I hate shared universes

[LastSonOfShaolin]

In comics, in tv, in movies, in everything. Why is everyone so obsessed with everything having to connect to everything else?

DC could have had so many movies out by now for all their main characters in their own universe. But no we have to wait so long cause we have to keep starting over and build a foundation first and then have everything slowly sprawl from that. Cavill should be on his 4th Superman solo movie by now. Aquaman trilogy should also be in the books by now.

I cant just sit down and read an entire Supergirl series from any era cause its injected with so much bull **** from "events" that I have to put the comic down and pick up my phone to access Wikimedia to find out what's going on every other issue. Wait what??? Why is Supergirl and Powergirl stuck on Candor all of a sudden? What does this have to do with anything??????

Ok I'm calm now. I'm surprised Rambo Terminator and Die Hard hasn't been retconned to exist in same universe.

[Vakanai]

Agreed. Used to I was with everyone else, thinking the shared universe was a neat-o concept. 20 to 30 MCU movies in, 10-ish DCEU movies in, 2 to 3 failed "Dark Universe" reboots in, one sucky DCAMU in and a second starting up, 4 Monsterverse movies in, Star Wars expanding and expanding in, it's just like "enough already!" One shared universe is fine. Maybe two is fine. A shared universe that stretches for like a decade is kind of fine. But this is just too much already! There can only be one MCU alright, and we got it already! That is enough for everyone! And besides, the shared universe really is limiting, great for team up movies but restraining on what the solo films can do. And frankly, I've gotten over the need to see all my favorite heroes having to crossover and team up. We could go a decade without another crossover and I'd be fine with it. It needs to be given a break, or it stops being special.


All that said - why is this thread in the DC section specifically?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

It's a cool gimmick but it can outstay its welcome. I just stopped taking it seriously and just read the comics I was interested in.

[Lightning Rider]

Some of my favorite comics and stories are standalone. Everything in it serves the story alone, and the characters' impact on the world around them isn't at all confined by the existence of anyone else.

That said, some of my favorite comics and stories involve long-lasting relationships. Friendships, romances, rivalries - those come with time and overlapping world-building. When heroes pair up and relate to each other, or experience each other's contexts with new perspectives, it creates tons of potential.

I get the fatigue, but there's a way to have the best of both worlds. It just requires a level of planning that WB isn't interested in and DC Editorial has struggled with given the obstacles and oddities of the direct market.

[CosmiComic]

Personally, I like it. It makes the universe seem bigger and more expansive. The problem comes when the individual characters don't get fleshed out enough.

But hasn't this been a thing for over 60 years in comics?

[MoneySpider]

Do WE live in a shared universe?

[Lightning Rider]

The Teen Titans.
The JSA.
Booster & Ted Kord.
Clark & Bruce.
Barry and Ralph/Hal & Ollie and Dinah.
Ray and Carter.
Wally and Dick/Kyle.

A DCU where those relationships didn't exist is poorer.

I think a bigger obstacle to a more fluid movie schedule is having to go through origins all the time. I think the next time they launch a Justice League movie, they should just launch it with a brand new cast right away. People are familiar enough with the characters at this point to just accept a universe in which superheroes and super-villains exist. The DCAU established their new JL team in an hour with "Secret Origins", a 2-hour movie should be able to introduce them as already existing team members without much trouble. Split them up in groups and let their personalities bounce off of each other from the jump.

[Vakanai]

But hasn't this been a thing for over 60 years in comics?

Yes. But problem is only the comics were shared universes. And those two shared universe were "loose" on continuity for the majority of those decades with a rotating audience of kids.

Now with many shared universes across media and an emphasis on continuity aimed at an older audience? It's kind of a lot.

Do WE live in a shared universe?

Yes. What does that have to do with anything here though? We can't fly our punch out holes in buildings yet comics don't reflect that reality.

[Restingvoice]

I hate it because they can't keep things consistent
When they can I like it

[CosmiComic]

Ok. I think it's only a problem with characters like Universal monsters who don't really fit in each other's universes. Whereas with DC and Marvel, I think having characters team up and then go off on their own makes it more interesting.

[Primal Slayer]

When done right they allow your characters to grow, go through different scenarios, interact with different characters. That's what makes the Marvel films fun. That's part of what made the DCAU fun, part of what made the Arrowverse appealing (though its just a mess now).

All these DC movies arent exactly connecting to one another now. They were spun from BvS but the connections to them are loose.

[CosmiComic]

When done right they allow your characters to grow, go through different scenarios, interact with different characters. That's what makes the Marvel films fun. That's part of what made the DCAU fun, part of what made the Arrowverse appealing (though its just a mess now).

All these DC movies arent exactly connecting to one another now. They were spun from BvS but the connections to them are loose.

I think the main thing is for each individual sub franchise to have its own identity and not get too bogged down in setting everything else up, while also not contradicting continuity. Too much set up can detract from expanding on the individual characters

[sifighter]

Then go read some indie books....that’s not me being dismissive, I genuinely mean that if you aren’t happy in a shared universe of comics that there is a wide variety of creator owned comics from various publishers that are entertaining, your image comics, your boom studios, aftershock, and etc. They may not have Batman or anything but you’ll get some genuinely good stories.

[Vakanai]

Ok. I think it's only a problem with characters like Universal monsters who don't really fit in each other's universes. Whereas with DC and Marvel, I think having characters team up and then go off on their own makes it more interesting.

The classic Universal monster mash ups from the 1940s beg to differ.

[CosmiComic]

The classic Universal monster mash ups from the 1940s beg to differ.

I've watched those. IMO the monsters never actually did a lot with each other. In one of them, Dracula never even meets the other two.